The present application is an application filed in accordance with 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 and claims the benefit of earlier filed United Kingdom application number GB 0005115.1 filed on Mar. 3, 2000.
This invention relates to a display apparatus, in particular but not exclusively for use in retail environments such as shops. The display apparatus of the invention may also be used e.g. in banks, hospitals, offices and indeed virtually anywhere that it is required to provide an attractive display of articles.
EP-A-0 295 869 discloses a display apparatus intended primarily for the displaying of laminar articles such as cards, leaflets, sheets, brochures and magazines. EP-A-0 295 869 discloses a plurality of elongate channels, fabricated from a plastics material such as polycarbonate, suspended one below another. Each channel is of generally J-shaped cross section for supporting articles in the trough thereby formed.
Each J-shaped trough has a longer arm and a shorter arm. The apparatus includes a support for supporting each lower J-shaped channel on the next higher J-shaped channel. The support includes a hook, which is provided on the longer arm of each lower J-shaped channel and which hooks over the shorter arm of the next higher J-shaped channel whereby each lower J-shaped channel is suspended from the shorter, forward arm of the next higher J-shaped channel so as to provide a suspended tiered display.
The apparatus of EP-A-0 295 859 may be dismantled for transportation, storage and replacement. Nonetheless, the apparatus of EP-A-0 295 859 suffers numerous drawbacks. Primary amongst the drawbacks is the fact that each lower J-shaped channel is suspended from the shorter arm (i.e. the front arm) of the upwardly adjacent J-shaped channel. This means that, in order to provide a visually attractive display, all the J-shaped channels must have longer and shorter arms of the same respective lengths.
Also, the formation of the upper end of the longer arm of each J-shaped channel as a hook, that hooks over the shorter arm of the next upwardly adjacent J-shaped channel, means that some of the space, between the shorter and longer arms defining the trough for displaying articles, is occupied by the material of the hook. This limits the available distance between the front and rear arms, and hence the quantity of articles that can be displayed in the apparatus of EP-A-0 295 869. This is important when the articles displayed are, e.g. greeting cards.
Another disadvantage of the apparatus of EP-A-0 295 869 is that the longer wall of each lower J-shaped channel overlies the shorter wall of the next, upwardly adjacent channel. This means that the overlapping faces of the longer and shorter arms must be free of protuberances, otherwise the hook defined at the upper end of each longer arm cannot be successfully hung from the adjacent shorter arm.
It is also known to provide an apparatus (herein xe2x80x9cthe known displayxe2x80x9d) that defines a cascading series of U-shaped channels. The upper edge of the rear limb of a lower said channel is connected to the underside of the next upwardly adjacent channel.
This arrangement solves the above-noted disadvantages of the display of EP-A-0 295 869, in that it permits production of a neat and attractive display even if the dimensions of the channel members (or parts thereof) differ from one tier of the display to the next.
The known display also permits the creation of visual effects in the apparatus, that appear not to be possible in the EP-A-0 295 869 apparatus. In particular, the upper edge of each front wall of each module is free. This in turn means that at least the front wall of the known display may be decorated e.g. by means of the addition of embellishments, or by virtue of having a non-rectilinear upper edge. The known display remains readily dismantleable and reassemblable.
However, the known display may require modification in order to display tall, flexible, items, such as magazines. This is because the upstanding front wall, of each U-shaped channel, that supports the upper parts of articles in the adjacent lower channel, is not generally tall enough to prevent magazines and similar articles from flopping over in the display. This is of course undesirable since in this condition the advertising effect of the magazine covers may be lost; the magazines may become damaged and unsaleable; and the stocked display is unsightly.
One possible modification to the known display is simply to deepen each U-shaped channel sufficiently, to support articles such as magazines and elongate leaflets. However this is associated with production difficulties. In particular, a molded or extruded comparatively deep U-section channel can go out of shape during cooling of the plastics material. This can lead to jamming of production equipment, and in any event can reduce the dimensional accuracy of the display to unacceptable levels.
According to the invention in a broad aspect there is provided an apparatus as defined in claim 1. A preferred feature of the shape of the apparatus is defined in claim 2. This apparatus enjoys the same advantages, over the apparatus of EPA-0 295 869, as the known apparatus. It additionally may be manufactured having dimensions(in particular, a height) suitable for supporting magazines and tall leaflets.
In preferred embodiments of the invention there is provided an apparatus as aforesaid including a further, lower module including a further, lower upstanding wall and a third protruding wall protruding therefrom, the further, lower upstanding wall being connectable, at a point below its uppermost edge, to the second protruding wall whereby, on connection of the third protruding wall and the further, lower, upstanding wall together, a portion of the further, lower, upstanding wall extends above the second protruding wall to define, with the walls of the first, lower module a further said channel, that is open along at least one edge for display and dispensing of articles therein.
Conveniently the apparatus includes a plurality of the further lower modules supported one beneath another, by virtue of connection of the upstanding wall of each lower module to the protruding wall of the adjacent, higher module, whereby to define a series of the preferably generally U or J-shaped modules one beneath another. Thus the display apparatus of the invention may be configured as a descending series of virtually any number of receptacles or channels that are suitable for supporting magazines, leaflets or similar articles.
Further, advantageous features of the invention are defined in the other dependent claims. Other claims define features that permit the ready connecting together, in a tiered display, of more than two of the modules of the apparatus. Still other claims define a terminating wall that with the lowermost module of the display or recess defines a lowermost U or J-shaped channel, for displaying more of the magazines or leaflets. Further claims define advantageous features of the terminating wall, that permit its ready attachment to the lowermost module of the display. Still further claims advantageously define means for supporting and bracing the apparatus relative to a fixed, preferably vertical surface such as a wall.
Preferably the upstanding wall of the or each lower module is generally parallel to the upstanding wall of the upwardly adjoining module when the modules are connected together. However, this need not necessarily be so.
The absence of any attachment involving the front of the upstanding wall of each module means that the upstanding wall may be made to any height to suit the application under consideration. This in turn provides the option of having differently sized modules within a single display, without any detrimental effect on the overall visual attractiveness of the display.
In another embodiment of the invention the upstanding walls of the respective modules are of generally equal heights. This allows the manufacture of a standard module size, that may be used to build up a tiered display of virtually any preferred depth. Obviously, a display apparatus may, if desired, include a mix of the aforesaid types of module.
Conveniently the upstanding wall of a said module may include ornamental features. An example of such an ornamental feature is that of a non-rectilinear free edge to the upstanding wall of a module. Thus, for example, the upper edge may include cut-outs or recesses to define a preferred image, pattern or message. Another possibility is for the front wall to include, e.g., indicia, embossments, apertures and/or recesses, to enhance the appearance of the display, display a message or for other purposes as disclosed hereinbelow. Other claims define a further feature that advantageously assists in the display of thin, laminar items. Still other claims define a moveable divider for sub-dividing the interior or the receptacle in more detail.